Cation effect on slow release from alginate beads: a fluorescence study

In this study, spherical alginate beads containing pyranine (P y ) as a fluorescence probe were prepared by ionotropic gelation of a sodium alginate solution. The steady state fluorescence technique was used to study pyranine release from the alginate beads crosslinked with calcium, barium and aluminum ions, respectively. The slow release of P y was observed with the time drive mode of the spectrophotometer at 512 nm. Fluorescence emission intensity (I p ) from P y was monitored during the release process, and the encapsulation efficiency (EE) of pyranine from the alginate beads was calculated. The Fickian Diffusion model was used to measure the release coefficients, D sl . It was seen that the slow release coefficients of pyranine from the alginate beads crosslinked with Ca(2+), Ba(2+), and Al(3+) ions increased in the following order: D sl (Al(3+))> D sl (Ca(2+))> D sl (Ba(2+)). In contrast, the initial amount of pyranine and EE into the beads showed the reverse behavior.